Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

I agree with Siemens' view in that global diversity has brought a different aspect to corporate and educational spheres. The technology and advancements found in today's world of business and education has allowed for a new form of a melting pot to form. The ability to converse or get advice from persons across the world with in minutes, maybe even seconds, is an ability that could have only come from the onset of the newer and more innovative technology found today. Due to innovations like, the internet, email, blogs, discussion forums, skype and many other forms of technology, the world has become a smaller place. What would have taken ages to accomplish can now be done in an instant. Siemens states "greater contributions from experts around the world has made a major impact on distance education"(Laureate Ed, 2008). It is always good to hear many points of view on a subject when trying to form your own stance. Well informed decisions are the best to be made and global diversity allows for view points based on many different aspects such as culture, beliefs, educational backgrounds and experience, which are some among many.


Laureate Education Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.

The Next Generation of Distance Education

The evolution of distance education is inevitable and will be, according to Dr. Simonson, used across the board in all levels of education. Due to this, distance education providers will need to continue to find ways to provide their students with the best possible education no matter what platform they choose to study in to achieve this goal. The conventional f2f education will eventually all incorporate forms of distance education within its study and will need to be able to make that form of study work in order to provide the necessary elements for its students to succeed. I agree, distance educational institutions have come a long way from the original self study at a distance education and have now grown to student teacher interaction while studying at a distance. Distance education institutions and their instructors must be able to provide its students with a similar curriculum as would a f2f institution while using tools found in the distance education scenario that would normally not be found in the conventional setting to its favor. This will allow these institutions to give their students an advantage of receiving a well-rounded education given the format of an education received in an unconventional manner.



Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of distance education. Baltimore: Author.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Forshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63-67.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part1: Training and Development). TechTrends, 52(3), 66-70.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70.